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Now that first-round pick, Matt Elam, has finally agreed to terms, the Ravens pre-Training Camp Salary Cap – barring another move over the next couple of days – appears to be set. With Elam now in the fold, the Ravens are set to enter Training Camp with $5,299,459 in available Salary Cap space.

That sounds like a decent amount of Cap space, but that number is a bit misleading because, under the Rule of 51 that applies at this time of the league year, only the highest 51 Salary Cap numbers on the team (and all dead money from players who have been released/retired/traded) presently count against the Cap.

Once the season starts, however, all players – those on the 53-man rosters, Injured Reserve (IR), Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) and the Practice Squad (PS) – must be accounted for within the team’s Salary Cap. Once those players are added in, that $5,299,459 will be greatly reduced.

So, in order to try and project the team’s season opening Cap space, it first takes a projected roster. For illustration purposes, the following is a guess at the Ravens season opening roster:

Now, there is little chance the roster will end up looking like the above example, but for illustration purposes, the above roster would leave the Ravens with $3,463,459 in Salary Cap space. This estimate does not, however, account for the inevitable Training Camp injuries that will lead to players being placed on IR. Once that happens, the injured player will continue to count against the team’s Salary Cap and the player signed to replace him will be added to the Cap and reduce the projected $3,463,459 in Cap space.

Again, the above roster was just a best guess. Players who didn’t make the above list, but may make the team are as follows:

So, if any of the above players made the final roster in place of a player on one of the first two lists, his Cap number will replace the Cap number of the player not making the team and his dead money will be replaced by the dead money from the player not making the team.

If, on the other hand, the player makes the team due to another player being placed on IR, then the new player’s Cap number will be added to the team’s Cap, while his dead money will be removed from the Cap.

So, given the final make-up of the rosters, and barring any roster additions, the starting point for the Ravens’ in-season Salary Cap should be in the $3.5M range, pending the cost of injury replacement.

If the team doesn’t make any other moves and doesn’t have a lot of injuries, any excess Cap space at the end of the year can be carried over into 2014.

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About Brian McFarland

Known on Ravens Message Boards as "B-more Ravor", Brian is a life-long Baltimorean and an avid fan of the Ravens and all Baltimore sports. A PSL holder since 1998, Brian has garnered a reputation as a cap-guru because of his strange (actually warped) desire to wade through the intricacies of the NFL's salary cap and actually make sense of it for those of us who view it as inviting as IRS Tax Code.
Brian, who hails from Catonsville, MD and still resides there, is married and has two children. More from Brian McFarland

Lombardi’s Way - A column from the 24×7 founder that focuses on the Ravens, the NFL, Baltimore, the world of sports or life’s inspirations.

Word on The Street - In the spirit of the CBS Sports Minute with Boomer Esiason, RSR brings you Word on The Street, a 90 second (or less) podcast on topics exclusively relating to the Baltimore Ravens.

Ravens Links - We’ll give you the best stories about the Ravens from around the web three times per week.

Fanimal Crackers - If you are an animal about the Baltimore Ravens, then you are a Fanimal! Follow the Russell Street Report blog Fanimal Crackers!

The Edgar Awards - The Edgar Awards will range from the Maryland county that is home to the best Ravens fans to the best Ravens podcast; from the best collection of displaced fans to the best local craft brews that should be part of your next tailgating party.

The Road to RSR - Our writers explains their journeys as fans and how they came to write for our little corner of sports media.